You too can be happy. Really. A Q&A with Shawn Achor

If you’ve been looking for ways to knock out negativity and introduce a more positive outlook to your life, take a few notes from Shawn Achor. Learn how your brain is your best tool for deflecting negativity.

“We think we have to be successful, then we’ll be happier. But the real problem is our brains work in the opposite order,” said Shawn Achor in his charming, immensely popular TED Talk from TEDxBloomington, “The happy secret to better work.” Achor is the CEO of consulting firm Good Think, which conducts research on positive psychology and helps people apply it to be happier and more effective at work. His 2011 talk drew on the research from his bestselling book on positive psychology, The Happiness Advantage, and since then he’s had a new question on his mind: Why are some people able to make positive changes in their lives, while others remain stuck in their ways? His latest book, Before Happiness, published last week by Random House, addresses just this question. In it Achor describes the five essential elements that are needed to develop a positive mindset for…